New Sensation

It's 2024, and each new year brings new ideas, trends, problems, and solutions. What I'd like to discuss today is how trends, whether good or bad, in the design field, are simply that. When I first started in the web industry in the early 2000s, one of the "trends" was faux textures, which meant I worked on a lot of websites that appeared to be carved out of wood, made of candy, or a fish tank with goldfish. These odd and sometimes absurd designs were created in response to what was popular at the time and because our clients or users were requesting it. However, even with this sometimes wild and now dated trend, what didn’t and doesn’t change is the design principles that were used in laying the content and message of those early websites.

Trends, styles, and fashions change, but good design and design principles remain timeless. Even as we designed these now-outdated websites that appeared to have been carved from a tree, we used the principles of Balance, Alignment, and Contrast to convey the message our clients desired to their users. A Google search for "Design Principles" yields a number of results on what constitutes the Design Principles, and without taking sides, I've decided to use the list compiled by 99 Designs.

These design principles are:

• Emphasis - The focal point of a design and the relative importance of each element within it.
• Contrast - In your design, contrast highlights elements and creates space between them
• Balance and Alignment - Refers to how elements are arranged and positioned, as well as how their weight is distributed.
• Proportion - Refers to the visual size and weight of the elements in a composition, as well as their relationship to one another.
• Repetition - Establishes relationships and associations between seemingly unrelated elements, allowing them to become connected.
• Movement - The process of leading the eye from one element to another, ensuring that your audience receives the information you seek.
• White space - In design, white space refers to both the absence of visual components and the empty space that surrounds existing components.

It is important to remember that regardless of the type of project, medium, or situation, actively implementing and practicing these core principles in our work does not guarantee that the project will succeed in the end. However, we will be able to create a design that is well-designed, well-rounded, balanced, and visually appealing.

As creatives, we must be aware of and knowledgeable about the changing trends in our industry. Knowing what is popular and what is going on in our industry can help us become better designers because staying new and current is what will keep us current, fresh, and relevant.  As designers, our challenge is to look at these trends and incorporate them into our design process while adhering to the design principles on which we should base all of our work.

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JVD

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*This newsletter is named after the song "NewSensation" from INXS' album "Kick" released in 1987.